Spring 2020 in the Garden of Earthly Delights
Susan got an early start this year turning the soil in the garden. Nico came to the rescue however and dug the garden for her. As a result we have had one of the earliest starts ever with the planting.
These four containers have lived on our kitchen window sill for the last few weeks and it has been fun to watch them sprout and grow. Three kinds of tomatoes and some lettuce.
Early morning on the 5th of May on our back patio. In the garden Susan has been preparing the soil and planting for two months now. She got an early start this year and her hard work is beginning to show. First came the daffodils followed by the tulips and all kinds of little flowers I am at a loss to name. The apple tree has been glorious with huge white blossoms. I have never seen them so big.
I love her garden. I don’t do much for it but I don’t know what to do. My mind just goes blank. I can handle cutting the grass or building a little something for the garden but more than that and I find it all very confusing.
I did decide to plant sunflowers. I planted a package and the birds ate them all, every one. So Susan said to get seeds out of the bird feed pail, it has lots of sunflower seeds, so I did and I planted them in small containers. They all seemed to have come up because I have hundreds of them! They are about four inched high now and I have begun to set them out in the garden.
Seeds from our favorite tomatoes got an early start on our kitchen window sill and they soon filled the trays. We will have endless fruit this year. Lots of jars of sauce!
I try to help where I can and one thing I can do is drive her to the nursery for plants or run to Home Depot for soil or fertilizer. Two or three days ago we went down to Marine Drive to the nurseries there and bought flowers for the hanging baskets and to fill in the garden.
The Nurseries on Marine Drive
I have no doubt that this is Susan’s vision of Paradise.
Susan can spend hours wandering among the little plants looking at them, caressing them, reading their little tags. And she can visualize what they will look like in her garden.
When we go to the nurseries I always take my camera because there are so many beautiful flowers to photograph. It is a feast for the eyes. These pink flowers were in a hanging basket.
The Joy in Susan’s Garden
It is a sad truth that I am not a gardner. But I love what Susan does in the yard and I am so proud of what she can accomplish. I do spend hours in her garden, part of every day, with a camera trying to capture the beauty to be found there. I am afraid my camera can only show a shadow of what is really there.
The colors are sometimes so subtle that the images totally fail to capture them. Other times they are so vivid that the camera’s sensor just can’t capture the delicate lights and shadings.
La Madonna dei Fiori watches over the flowers all summer and waits patiently every winter for the Spring to come.
The Swans don’t have their flowers yet but when they do they will be a glorious sight.
The tulips and daffodils come early and they are too soon gone. But while they are with us they are magnificent! But there are other early flowers too and I don’t know all of their names but they add to the display. And the fruit trees put on a show for us. The apple tree this year was a wonder of white blossoms.
In the front yard we have a camelia which has beautiful blossoms. It is next to a lilac which is just coming out now. On the right we have the blossoms on the rosemary. Below that, you can’t see it in this picture, the sage is also getting ready with its flowers but they won’t be out for a few more days.
Just below the compost pile in the back corner of the grade, a few poppies come up every year to add their splendid orange hues to the boquette.
This year the apple blossoms were wonderful. I am just sorry they didn’t last longer. But each flower has its turn and then has to get out of the way for the next.
The early morning is the best time to walk in the garden. The drew from the previous night has left little jewels all over the petals of the flowers.
And that is what is going on in Susan’s garden. The work continues daily and new things are making their appearance every day. Soon it will be the fruits and vegitables and the feast will begin: figs, apples, plums, zucchini, beets, rappini, potatoes, grapes, sage, basil, oregano, beans, raspberries and on and on. And all from such a little piece of land!
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